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THE city and county of Camden have produced or had living within their bounds a number of men who have contributed valuable works to literature or devoted careful attention to the study of science. Biographical sketches of the leading ones are here given.
MASTER EVELYN, one of the members of the English colony under Sir Edmund Ployden, at Fort Eriwomac, in what is now Stockton township, returned to England in 1637, and wrote a history of the newly-discovered region, in which he graphically described the country, and urged Earl Ployden to come to America and look after his possessions.
THOMAS SHARP, the master-spirit of the Newton colony, was a man of fine intelligence. In 1718, thirty-seven years after the first settlement at Newton, he wrote a "Memorial of the First Settlers," giving much interesting personal history of the various members of the settlement, as well as their proceedings after arriving in the new country. It is on record at Trenton, and, being of especial historic interest, appears in full in the history of Haddon township, in this book. He also wrote some poetry, and was the first teacher in what is now Camden County.
NATHANIEL EVANS, a native of England, born 1742, was a young man who had an excellent classical education and possessed great talent. He was admitted to Holy Orders in London, came to America, and was chosen missionary to the Protestant Episcopal Churches at Colestown and Gloucester by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and served six years in that position. He died October, 1767, at the early age of twenty-five years, and his remains were interred at Christ Church, Philadelphia. At the time of his death he left, in manuscript form, a collection of poems, most of which were descriptive of local scenes and incidents, and of the beauties of the landscape scenery of the Delaware and vicinity. These poems show that the author had real poetic ability, and was a man of superior classical culture. They were published in book-form many years after his death, a copy of which maybe found in the Franklin Library, Philadelphia. The book was sold by subscription, and the names of the subscribers appear in it.
REV. DR. ROBERT BLACKWELL, five years after the death of Nathaniel Evans, came to New York under the authority of the Society for the Propagation of the
Gospel in Foreign Parts, and, on the 19th of November, 1772, took charge of the Episcopal Churches in this region of country - St. Mary’s, at Colestown; St. John’s, at Gloucester; and St. Peter’s, at Greenwich. He resided at Haddonfield, on the site of the dwelling on Main Street, next below the new Baptist Church, now occupied by the Misses Kirby. The breaking out of the Revolutionary War distracted the mission work, and Mr. Blackwell, in 1777, became chaplain of the First Pennsylvania Brigade, and surgeon of the regiments under General Anthony Wayne, and was at Valley Forge in 1778. At the close of the war he was called as assistant minister under Bishop White, and served thirty years in charge of Christ and St. Peter’s Churches, Philadelphia. While in Haddonfield he married Rebecca, daughter of Joseph Harrison, of Gloucester. She died a few years after, leaving a daughter, who become the wife of George Willing, Esq., of Philadelphia. Rev. Blackwell married, as a second wife, the daughter of William Bingham, and sister of the William Bingham, the United States Senator. He was a member of the American Philosophical Society, trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and of the Episcopal Academy, and acted in many capacities in the church of which he was an active and leading member. He died at Philadelphia in February, 1831.
RICHARD SNOWDON, a son of Leonard and Jane Snowdon, was born in Pontefract, Yorkshire, England, April 15, 1753. He was of one of the old families of Yorkshire, where he was educated. He came to America with his father when a young man, and after visiting various places, settled at Burlington, N.J., and from thence made his residence a short distance from Haddonfield, in Gloucester County. He had been liberally educated and was employed as a teacher, in which he was successful.
In 1793 he published a "History of the Revolutionary War," written after the style of the Scriptures - in two volumes - which attracted much attention. Two years later he published "The Columbiad," a poem relating to the same period. A second edition of this work was printed in Baltimore. In 1805 he published his "History of North and South America" from the time of their discovery to the death of Washington. It is a valuable and reliable work.
In 1807 he removed to Woodbury, and in connection with teaching school became a conveyancer, and having been appointed a master in the Court of Chancery, became a useful citizen. He was public-spirited and took much interest in the improvements of his adopted country. At the Friends’ Meeting in Haddonfield he was married to Sarah Brown in 1779, by whom he had several children. He died at the residence of his son in Philadelphia, March 21, 1825. His published works at this day are much sought after, especially his "History of the Revolutionary War," which is curious and unique.
RICHARD JORDAN, one of the prominent ministers of the Society of Friends in America, for many years resided in Camden County. He was born at Elizabeth, Norfolk County, Va., December 19, 1756. When he attained his manhood he became a forcible and earnest speaker, traveled extensively in the United States and in Europe, and visited many Friends’ Meetings, earnestly engaged in the work of the ministry. In 1809 he settled among the Friends of Newton Meeting, and in October of that year, "after a pleasant journey from Rhode Island, arrived at Samuel Cooper’s, near the place of his intended residence, and met with a kind reception from that amiable family." He settled on a farm within a mile of the Newton Meeting. His "Journal," written between the years 1763 and 1826, was published in book-form during the last-mentioned year, in an octavo volume of one hundred and seventy-two pages. It is a very readable book, is well written and illustrates that he was an earnest and faithful worker to advance the truth of the Gospel and the interest of his religious society.
He died near Camden on the 13th day of October, 1826, in the seventieth year of his age, having been a minister over forty years. His "Journal" was published under the auspices of Haddonfield Monthly Meeting, which paid a glowing tribute to his memory.
DR. ISAAC S. MULFORD, of Camden (a biography of whom will be found in the medical chapter of this work), was a lecturer on medical and scientific subjects, and was the author of a number of articles which appeared in medical journals. In 1848 he published a work of five hundred pages, entitled a "Civil and Political History of New Jersey." It is written in elegant English, and is recognized as a work of historic merit.
ISAAC MICKLE whose biography will be found on page 221, obtained a liberal education, with a view to the practice of the law, and was granted an attorney’s license in 1845. His tastes, however, were more for literature and antiquarian research, and in the course of his short life collected much valuable material in that direction. He became editor of the Camden Democrat and managed that paper with ability for several years. He was author of the "Reminiscences of Old Gloucester," in which work his industry and good judgment are manifest, saving from loss many facts and incidents relating to the first settlements along the Delaware River.
DR. L.F. FISLER, whose biography will be found in the medical chapter of this work, in 1858 wrote and published a local history of Camden, a carefully-prepared little volume of sixty-two pages, containing much interesting information.
JOHN CLEMENT, who, since 1864, has been lay judge of the Court of Errors and Appeals, has turned much of his time to antiquarian literature and the examination of original documents. This line of study and investigation led him to prepare a very valuable book, entitled "The First Settlers of Newton," containing four hundred and forty-two pages, published in 1877. Judge Clement later wrote and published the "Reminiscences of Old Gloucester County in the Revolution" and "The West New Jersey Society," and has contributed numerous articles on historical subjects to the current magazines and the local newspapers.
WALT WHITMAN was born at West Hills, Huntington, Suffolk County, State of New York, May 31, 1819; father, a farmer and carpenter, descended from early English immigration; mother’s maiden-name, Van Velsor, of Holland-Dutch stock; was brought up in Brooklyn and New York Cities and went to the public schools; as a young man, worked at type-setting and writing in printing-offices; has traveled and lived in all parts of the United States, from Canada to Texas, inclusive; began his book of poems - "Leaves of Grass" - in 1855, and completed it in 1881, when, after six or seven stages, the final edition was issued. Mr. Whitman is also author of a prose book, - "Specimen Days and Collect," - published in 1883. During 1863, ‘64 and ‘65, he was actively occupied in the army hospitals and on the battle-fields of the Secession War, as care-taker for the worst cases of the wounded and sick of both armies. A little while after the close of the war, he had a severe paralytic stroke, from which he has never since entirely recovered; lives in partial seclusion in Camden, N.J.; calls himself "a half-paralytic;" still writes and lectures occasionally.
The foregoing paragraph (from a late book, by Allen Thorndike Rice) gives a condensed but correct statement of the life of Mr. Whitman, who has been a resident of Camden for over thirteen years, - since 1873. In addition to the two volumes mentioned above, must be named a third one, - "November Boughs," - now about appearing, and which will, probably, complete the author’s utterances. One of Whitman’s critics says: "He is the greatest optimist that ever lived, and believes that America leads the world."
At the present date (November, 1886) he is dwelling in a little cottage of his own, 328 Mickle Street, Camden, not far from the Delaware River. In person he is large, ruddy-faced, white-haired, long-bearded, stout and tall, and weighs two hundred pounds; his mental powers clear as ever, but his body disabled in movement, the legs almost entirely. He is unmarried and lives in a very plain and democratic manner. His books yield a narrow income. In a late notice, by one of his friends, it is said "the older he grows, the more gay-hearted Walt Whitman becomes." His works are, probably, more read in Europe, especially the British Islands, than in America.
DR. REYNELL COATES, a sketch of whom will be found on page 247, possessed one of the most brilliant intellects of the State of New Jersey. He was well-educated in the classics, in the natural sciences and in general literature. Although a physician by profession, he devoted most of his time to literary pursuits. In 1852 he was nominated for Vice-President on the Native American ticket, with Daniel Webster for President. He moved to Camden about 1850. He was the author of "Leaflets of Memory," "School of Physiology," "Domestic Practice" and other well-known works. He delivered a lecture, in 1886, before the Philadelphia County Medical Society, on the "Necessity for the Improvement and Advancement of Medical Education," and delivered a series of very successful lectures in Boston and elsewhere. He was a powerful and logical speaker, having a fine physique, commanding presence and graceful delivery, while his mental grasp of his subject, whether purely professional, political, philosophical or literary, carried conviction with it and made him one of the men of mark of his day. He was intimately associated with Poe, Willis, Griswold and other literary lights. It always annoyed him to think that of all his literary productions, the one holding the most prominent place, and yet popular, is "The Gambler’s Wife," which he always contended was marred by an addition for "stage effects."
EDWARD D. COPE, the distinguished scholar and scientist, resided for a number of years in the village of Haddonfield, where he performed a considerable portion of the scientific investigations which have made his name famous. He was born in Philadelphia in 1840. In early life he manifested an especial predilection for the study of the natural sciences, and while a mere youth had
mastered the more complex aspects which a close investigation of the anatomy and morphology of animal life revealed. He received his first systematic training in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, towards the extension of whose vast collections he subsequently very materially assisted.
His earliest published contributions to science were in the departments of herpetology and ichthyology, in both of which fields he became a recognized authority. He next explored the fields of vertebrate paleontology, and now probably has no peer in this department of scientific knowledge, his discoveries being made principally in the Western Territories. The repeated annual expeditions to the region of the Rocky Mountains, partly in conjunction with the explorations of the United States Geological Survey, but during the past few years conducted at his own individual expense, have brought forth a wealth of departed animal forms, bewildering in the manifold types of structure which they embody. These, which are to be counted by hundreds of species, fishes, amphibious reptiles and mammal; throw surprising light on the evolution or genesis of life forms, and render comprehensible the complexities of type structure which we find represented in the living fauna of the present day. Professor Cope is a firm upholder of the doctrine of evolution, but inclines to the Lamarckian hypothesis of transformism, or to that explanation of the phenomena of variation which involves the assistance of the immediate mechanical law, rather than to pure Darwinism.
His paleontological explorations were principally among the Permian deposits of Texas and New Mexico, the Cretaceous deposits of New Jersey ("greensands") and the West, the Laramie beds and the Tertiaries of the Central Basin, but his excursions are also in great measure extra-limital, embracing Mexico, South America, etc., etc. His observations are embodied in several ponderous volumes, published under the authority of the United States Geological Survey, in greater part contributions to the Hayden series of reports, and in many papers published in the American Naturalist (of which he is the responsible editor), the Proceedings and Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences, and the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society. Professor Cope is a member of numerous scientific associations of this country and Europe, and was the recipient of the Bigsby gold medal of the Geological Society of London in 1879. The University of Heidelberg conferred upon him its doctorate in 1886, and distinguished honors have been placed upon him by many of the learned societies of the world.
CHARLES F. PARKER, a well-known botanist, and for a number of years, and up to the time of his death, curator-in-charge of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, was born in that city November 9, 1820, and died in Camden September 7, 1883, where he had resided since 1853. He was a book-binder by trade, but was much interested in the natural sciences, and had made collections of plants, shells, insects and minerals. His herbarium, purchased immediately after his death by Princeton College, was particularly rich in the flora of New Jersey. No other botanist had made so many visits to the vast pine barrens and swamps of the State, or had collected so extensively; and this collection is one of the finest and most perfect in existence, a monument of his skill, energy and patience. Before he became a member of the academy, in 1865, he was well-known to Gray, Torrey, Watson and other distinguished botanists. Many of his specimens to-day enrich the herbariums of scientists and institutions both in Europe and America. At the desire of Darwin, he made for him a collection of American insect-eating plants. He was one of the first to discover that the ballast deposits in and around Philadelphia and Camden afforded a new field for botanical study. His conchological knowledge frequently enabled him to determine, from occasional fragments of shells, the part of the world from which the strange plants found in these deposits had come.
Born a naturalist, he had an innate faculty for classifying, selecting and arranging, combined with nice tactual and great manual dexterity. Prof. Grey said his mounted specimens were unrivaled. A great part of the academy’s collection, so diverse and so extensive, bears evidence of his skill, labor, taste and pains. During the ten years of his administration as curator-in-charge the actual manual work of arrangement, as well as the general scientific determination of much of the material added during that time, besides much that was on hand, but still unclassified, was performed by himself.
Soon after becoming a member he devoted all the time he could spare from his bindery, and, with Messrs. Durand, Meehan, Burke and Redfield, rearranged the academy’s herbarium. There, alone, he spent all his leisure for several years in the systematic arrangement of the conchological collection, preparing and mounting in his own superior style over one hundred thousand specimens. During his curatorship he mounted between thirty and forty thousand additional specimens, all outside of the time for which he was employed. His skill was so well known that he was asked to arrange and classify the collections of some of our colleges. His own shells, after his decease, were accepted at the price named by a gentleman in the West.
In the preliminary catalogue of the flora of New Jersey, printed under the auspices of the State Geological Survey, he gave considerable time.
He left no public writings, and had he left no collections, his volunteer labors alone (which were unapproached by that of any other member), in arranging and better adapting the academy’s invaluable museum for scientific study, would have been no mean contribution to the promotion of knowledge.
JAMES S. LIPPINCOTT, a resident of Haddonfield, N.J., for several years before his death, was a man of good literary and scientific attainments. He contributed many articles to scientific magazines and assisted the Agricultural Department at Washington in making its annual report reliable and attractive.
He edited an American edition of "Chambers’ Encyclopaedia," and did much work On "Lippincott’s Biographical Dictionary."
He was a close observer of the weather, and his notes of climatic changes and influences are valuable additions to that branch of knowledge. His industry and perseverance are shown in the general and exhaustive index he made of the Friend, a religious journal, and devoted to the interests of that society, extending through forty volumes.
He twice visited Europe, and traveled extensively there, making notes of the people, the country and resources, which he put in the shape of letters to the press and to his friends. He collected much genealogical data relating to both branches of his family, Lippincott and Starr, but his enfeebled health prevented his arranging it before his death.
His library was large and select, containing volumes entirely out of print, and but seldom met with. Any purpose that advanced knowledge, or developed any particular branch of science, he was in sympathy with. His manuscripts are extensive and will increase in value, making it desirable that they be kept together, where they could be consulted by those of like tastes and in search of like knowledge. He was a devoted student and genial companion, always familiar with the literature of the day and ready with good-natured criticism. He was twice married, but left no children. He died March 17, 1885, in the sixty-fifth year of his age, to be much missed by his friends and associates.
WILLIAM FEWSMITH, author of the well-known Fewsmith’s English Grammars, was born in Philadelphia in the year 1826, and is a son of Joseph Fewsmith. When he was six years old his parents removed to the vicinity of Haddonfield. He obtained a preparatory education in the schools of that village and in Franklin Park Boarding School, near Burlington. After spending three years in an academy at Colchester, Conn., he entered Western Reserve College, in Ohio, and there passed the freshman year. At the expiration of this time he went to Yale College, and was graduated from that institution in 1844, with a class of one hundred and six, of whom about thirty-five are now living. While in college Mr. Fewsmith was recognized as the best Latin and Greek scholar in his class, and took several prizes for his proficiency in reading those languages at sight. From 1844 to 1857 he was teacher of ancient languages and English grammar in a private academy in Philadelphia. He then opened a school himself at Tenth Street and Arch, in that city, continued it there until 1860, when he removed to 1008 Chestnut Street, and has since conducted the well-known "Fewsmith Classical and Mathematical School" at that place, with gratifying success to himself and with satisfaction to its numerous patrons. Since he entered the profession of teaching, in 1844, he has trained more than one thousand different pupils, many of whom have since gained prominence in law, medicine and theology. His influence as an instructor of the young has been productive of much good. in 1867 he was elected superintendent of the schools of Camden and did efficient work in reorganizing and grading them. He filled this position for several years, and in the mean time continued his school in Philadelphia. In 1867 the firm of Sower, Potts & Co., of Philadelphia, published his "Grammar of the English Language" and "Elementary Grammar," both of which have had a wide circulation and extensive sale in the schools of this country.
JOSEPH F. GARRISON, M.D., D.D., for twenty-nine years rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Camden, was the only son of Dr. Charles Garrison, of Deerfield, Cumberland County, N.J., and was born in Fairton, in that same county, on January 20, 1823. His father removed to Swedesboro’, Gloucester County, N.J., in the latter part of this year, where he became one of the most prominent physicians in New Jersey, and practiced medicine for over fifty years.
J. F. Garrison entered the sophomore class in Princeton College in 1839, and was graduated, third in his class, in 1842. He at once began the study of medicine in the University of Pennsylvania, and was an office student of Dr. Edward Pearce and Dr. William Pepper, the latter being the father of the present distinguished professor and provost of the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Garrison received his diploma in medicine in 1845, and settled in Swedesboro’, where he practiced in connection with his father until 1855, when he entered the ministry of the Episcopal Church. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Deane on June 3, 1855, in Trinity Church, Swedesboro’, and was almost immediately invited to take charge of St. Paul’s Church, Camden, which had been vacant for some months after the death of Rev. Joseph Lybrand. Dr. Garrison entered on the duties of minister in this parish in September, 1855.
In 1879 Dr. Garrison received the honorary degree of D.D., from his old college, Princeton, N.J., and in June, 1884, he was elected professor of liturgies, canon law and ecclesiastical polity, on the "Moorhead foundation," in the Episcopal Divinity School of Philadelphia. Having decided to accept this appointment, Dr. Garrison resigned the rectorship of St. Paul’s from September 1, 1884, and immediately entered on the duties of the chair entrusted to him.
From the beginning of his connection with the ministry of the church Dr. Garrison was active in the general affairs of the Diocese of New Jersey. He was dean of the Convocation of Burlington for a considerable period; an examining chaplain to the bishop for more than twenty-five years; one of the deputies to the General Convention from 1874; a member, and subsequently president, of the standing committee of the diocese, and was for some time a diocesan trustee of the General Theological Seminary, in New York. He has also been appointed as the Bohlen lecturer for the year 1887. The published writings of Dr. Garrison have been a considerable number of articles in the Church Review and elsewhere, and several sermons, the most important of the latter being "The Centennial Discourse," delivered in New Brunswick, N.J., at the request of the bishop of the old diocese in the State on May 5, 1885, upon the occasion of the celebration of the one hundredth anniversary of the organization of the Episcopal Church in the State of New Jersey. The sermon is an extended account of the character of the Colonial Church, and of the events connected with its separation from the mother church in England, and the beginnings, in the same year, of the General Conventions of the Church in the United States and the Diocesan Conventions of New Jersey.
ISAAC C. MARTINDALE was born in Byberry, Philadelphia County, Pa., July 13, 1842. His parents were members of the Society of Friends, and his early education was acquired chiefly at schools under the control of Friends. His father was a descendant from John Martindell, who, early in the history of the country, settled in Bucks County, Pa. Many of the family name have become prominent in the history of that part of Pennsylvania, and of late years we find them scattered all over the country. Some remarkable instances of longevity are noted in different branches of the family. His mother was the daughter of Joseph Comly, a brother of John Comly, an eminent minister of the Society of Friends, the author of "Comly’s Spelling-book," "Comly’s Grammar," etc., and who, with another brother, Isaac Comly, edited Friends’ Miscellany and other periodicals. The literary ability thus conspicuously marked can be traced backward through several generations, and the subject of this sketch, whose portrait is herewith given, has inherited it in a good degree.
While living on his father’s farm he took up the study of natural history, and, notwithstanding his scanty supply of books, he early became possessed of considerable scientific knowledge. The geology and mineralogy of the neighborhood were especially studied. Ornithology received much attention, till he became quite familiar with the names and habits of most of the birds that belong to that part of the country. He, too, was quite familiar with astronomy and meteorology, and was one of the appointed meteorological observers of the Smithsonian Institution at Washington for a number of years.
His favorite study, however, was botany, which he began soon after leaving school and has continued it ever since, so that he ranks among the noted botanists of the country; he has contributed largely to scientific periodicals on this subject and has accumulated a collection of specimens in the form of a herbarium, the finest in New Jersey, with but few in the country surpassing
it, embracing tens of thousands of species from various parts of the world, the flora of North America, including Mexico, being very fully represented, as well as that of Great Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Palestine, Arabia, Australia, New Zealand and other islands of the Pacific Ocean. This department of study has brought him in intimate association with the eminent scientists of the day. He is a member of many of the learned societies of the country, and has done much to encourage and foster the study of scientific subjects in Camden County by his identity with and aid to local institutions.
In 1867 Mr. Martindale left the farm to accept a position as clerk in the National State Bank of Camden, of which Jesse Townsend, also a native of Byberry, Pa., was cashier. By diligent attention he became so familiar with all the details of the banking business that at the death of Jesse Townsend, in 1871, he was elected cashier. In April, 1874, the sudden death of his wife occurred while in attendance at a religious meeting at Fifteenth and Race Streets, Philadelphia (she was Hannah Ann Kirk, daughter of Samuel Kirk, of Byberry, Pa.). In the month of June of the same year, in order to recuperate his health, which had become impaired, he took a trip to Europe and traveled through Scotland, England, Germany, Switzerland and France. He visited many museums and scientific collections both in England and on the Continent, and also made a collection of several hundreds of specimens of the Alpine flora of the country. He returned in the autumn of 1874, resuming his position as cashier, which he retained till February, 1885, when he resigned. He then
became interested with others in the establishment of a bank in South Camden, and soon had in operation the Camden National Bank, of which he is now cashier. The literary ability which he inherited led him to become quite a contributor to magazines and other periodicals, and while his articles are largely on scientific subjects, others are often found, even the poetic vein not being omitted. He has taken much interest in local histories; was engaged for several years in collecting material for a history of the townships of Byberry and Moreland, Philadelphia County, Pa., which was afterwards published by his brother, Joseph C. Martindale, M.D.
Soon after coming to Camden he prepared and published in the West Jersey Press a series of "Objects of Interest in and around Camden," which have been very serviceable in the preparation of this history. His connection with various literary societies has made him quite an earnest public speaker. In recent years he has become quite prominent in the meetings of the Society of Friends, of which he is a member.
He married Lizzie Ball, daughter of John Ball, a native of Quakertown, Bucks County, Pa., a few years ago and now resides in Camden; he has a family of two sons - Wallace S. and Charles B. - and one daughter, Emma K., by his first wife.
GEOFFREY BUCKWALTER, principal of the First School District of Camden, is an occasional contributor to the periodical literature of the day, and the author of a "Primary" and a "Comprehensive Spelling-Book" and "A Practical System of Penmanship," consisting of two series of copy-books. The spelling-books were published by Porter & Coates in 1879, and the copy-books by the same firm, in 1884 and 1885.
BARTRAM L. BONSALL, for several years past the enterprising proprietor of the Camden Post, which influential journal was established greatly through his energy, in 1882 wrote and published a work of one hundred and ninety-four pages, entitled "Cash; or, Practical Hints from Practical People." The book contains interesting instruction and valuable information.
DR. J. DUNBAR HYLTON, of Palmyra, is the author of "Betrayed; A Northern Tale in seven parts." One volume, two hundred and eighty-eight pages. "The Bride of Gettysburg. An Episode of 1863." One volume, one hundred and seventy-two pages. "Above the Grave and the Praesidicide, etc." One volume, two hundred and twenty-eight pages. "The Heir of Lyolynn. A tale of Sea and land, in seven parts; Lays of Ancient Times; Song of the Engineer to his Engine while conveying President Garfield from Washington to Long Branch; and numerous Charades and Riddles." One volume, five hundred and forty pages. "Above the Grave of John Odenswurge."
GEORGE F. FORT, a member of the Camden County bar, is the author of an "Historical Treatise on Early Builders’ Works," "Medieval Builders," "Medical Economy during the Middle Ages" and "Early History and Antiquities of Masonry."
BOTANISTS. - The opportunities afforded for the study of botany, led many persons into it, but no society was organized to that especial end till 1870, when a scientific circle of the Camden Literary and Library Association was established, Isaac C. Martindale being the prime mover therein. The purpose was to have the different departments of natural science represented, whenever persons thus interested should call up the various subjects; but the botanical circle was the only one regularly organized. Mr. Martindale was elected its president; Reynell Coates,M.D., vice-president; and Mrs. Mary L. Gilbert, secretary. The meetings were held at the library-room, No. 106 Market Street, Camden. The exercises consisted of lectures, presentation of specimens, descriptions of rare localities, etc. Besides the officers above mentioned, those who took an active part at the meetings were Rudolphus Bingham, Miss Carrie A. Boyce, Mrs. Harriet M. Harned, John F. Harned, Frederick Bourquin, Thomas Gilbert, Mrs. Virginia R. Naisby, Charles F. Parker, Wallace M. Smith, S.D. Button, Miss E.J. Burnside, M.D., Frank Harned, J.T. Pennypacker, S.W. Cochran, Henry Harned, U.F. Richards, W.S. Johnson, Miss Lizzie A. Sanders, M.D., Mrs. Dr. Pratt, Carrie Titus, Lillie Titus, Clara Titus, Minnie Titus, Miss Salina A. Rule, Charles P. Burrough and Mr. and Mrs. J. Hugill, Mr. Martindale gave at series & illustrated lectures on the adopted classification of the animal, vegetable and mineral kingdoms. Mr. Bourquin discoursed on ferns and mosses, his especial study, and also on the culture of roses. Dr. Coates gave a number of discourses on natural science, relating his experience as a naturalist while attached to exploring expeditions in former years. Rudolphus Bingham, with his fund of information, became a very active and influential member. The meetings were continued several years, adjourning usually in the summer season. After their final discontinuance, among all the lovers of botany in Camden, who continued active as botanists, we find only the names of Isaac C. Martindale, Charles F. Parker and Carrie A. Boice, probably because many had removed to other localities, some had died and others became engrossed with manifold duties and responsibilities that left little time for scientific study.
THE MICROSCOPICAL SOCIETY OF CAMDEN was formed November 7, 1878, by a few gentlemen desirous of improving themselves in microscopical investigation. The original members were Joseph C. De la Cour, Albert P. Brown, Ph.D., Joseph L. De la Cour, Samuel W. Cochran, M.F. Middleton, M.D., William D. Clark, Harry S. Fortiner, I. Harvey Wroth, M.D., Alfred W. Test and C. Henry Kain. The first president of the society, Albert P. Brown, occupies the position of microscopical preceptor in the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy, Philadelphia, and has been instrumental in advancing the use of the microscope in that institution.
Mr. Brown was succeeded by Isaac C. Martindale, whose botanical knowledge is too well appreciated to call for more than incidental mention.
The present chief officer, C. Henry Kain, has devoted his time and labor to the study of die diatomaceae, on which subject he is an acknowledged authority. He is at present engaged in preparing a list of the diatoms of New Jersey, which, when completed, will be a valuable contribution to the literature of that order.
Various papers of scientific interest have been read at the meetings of the society, and an effort is made to have, during the winter of each year, an exhibition at some public place of the work of the season. These soireés are always largely attended, and have had the effect of increasing the membership.
The present membership is about thirty. Of the originators, but five are now connected with the society.
The following is a partial list of members of this society, together with the subjects upon which they are specialists:
A.P. Brown, Ph.D. chemical microscopy and urinary deposits.
G.G. Browning. general microscopy, adulteration of drugs.
Rudolphus Bingham, botany, effects of alcohol.
James Buckle, occult science.
John B. Betts, entomology, desmidaceae.
L.S. Cheney, choice mounting. section preparation.
J. Loriot De la Cour, entomology, chemical microscopy.
Louis T. Derousse, entomology, general microscopy.
John H. Dialogue, Jr., general microscopy.
Samuel Hufty, general microscopy.
E.M. Howard. M.D., bacteria, general microscopy, histology.
Charles A. Hotchkiss, diatomaceae, general microscopy.
Henry Harned, general science.
C. Henry Kain, diatomaceae, special preparation of slides.
Isaac C. Martindale, botany, general microscopy.
M.F. Middleton, M.D., clinical microscopy, histology.
E.F. Moody. engineering. physics.
A.A. Moss, general science.
Edwin Morgan, general science.
George T. Robinson, electricity, microscopy, fungi.
E.E. Reed, general microscopy, adulteration of foods.
S. Howard Troth, general microscopy.
Aaron Van Gelder, general microscopy.
I. Francis Walsh, clinical microscopy.
SOURCE: Page(s) 330-339, History of Camden County, New Jersey, by George R. Prowell, L.J. Richards & Co. 1886
Published 2010 by the Camden County Genealogy Project